Snowed In, On, Over and Under (Yet is Still Snows On)

The snow is falling like craaaaaaazy outside, and has been since 5am. I know in lots of places it has already come and stayed, but here in central Alberta it only teased one minute and then melted the next - until now! When I got up this morning at 6 there was a bit of a dusting on the ground and the snowflakes were drifting slowly and dreamily to the ground. I didn't really even wrinkle my nose at it come to think of it, I was kinda happy that I wasn't going to have to scrape my windows of a thick layer of frost!

After the slow drive into work (being grateful that I live only 4km away!) I watched our 'garden gang' shovel off the walks outside my office window. 3 hours later the groundskeeper was around with his little tractor-sweeper to do it all again because you couldn't tell it'd ever been done! And now, about an hour and a half after that, no evidence of shovelling remains, and there is roughly 3 1/2 inches of snow over the paths twice cleared. The parking lots are a mess, and the interns are begging to be allowed to leave an hour early because they're afraid of what the drive on the highway will be like.... sheesh... kids!! Oh, look! Another shoveller has emerged, covered head to toe (including some really awful sunglasses) to uncover the drop-off spot again for the wheelchair vans... god bless'em. all of our shovel-masters!!

Depending on when I look up from my desk the sizes of flakes and the speed and direction they are falling changes. So far I have seen them tiny and round falling in a thick blanket straight down in a hurry, big, fat, and mis-shapen lazily drifting down, and somewhere in the middle falling at various speeds depending on which side of the building I look out!

On my lunchbreak I couldn't resist the call of the unspoiled paths, so ignoring the odd looks from some of the people I work with I pulled on my boots and trudged out to the garden to take some shots of the snow and the trees. There's something really pretty about the first real snowfall that I just can't make myself appreciate as the season wears on (and on, and on, and on, and on...).

So anyway, here are some pictures of the prettiness of it all - I won't admit to liking winter, but the snow is sure beautiful for the first while! If I can figure out video upload (I think I can do that here?) I'll add one of the big fat flakes outside my window, because I really think it's the best part!

A blissful dreamy day to you... S.

I love the way you can see the underside of the brances and berries so nicely in early winter, before the snow-melt-freeze cycle begins, layering everything in that thick pack of ice.

A Day in Banff

Sadie and I drove the few hours down and over to Banff today to use massage coupons that her brother gave us (2 Christmases ago!). The roads were good (contrary to the forecast!), and we hit snow about 40 minutes from Banff itself. Our massages were at Pleides Spa in Upper Banff. It was nice, though for the 3-hour drive and the $20 provincial park admission fee I can't say that it was fantastic (but it was nice). My maseusse had a good ole' time working out knots in the muscles that connect the top of my glutes and my hips (or some such thing!), and I was suuuuuurrre feeling bruised later! I wonder if that explains the pains I'd been having running, all those knots... The best part of the massage for me was actually the steam room afterward, a nice long soak in the hot steam, I looooooved that!

Anyway, shaking myself out of my virtual steam room now... we also walked around Banff for a couple of hours before our massage since we'd arrived early. Sadie was disappointed that it was not yet set up for Christmas - their parade kickoff to the holidays was still 2 weeks away, like most sane people! I took a few pictures here and there, but it was pretty cold and mostly it just looked like plain old Banff: people, snow, cars... that about covers it! Oddly, though I meant to I never got around to taking any actual photos of the spa (not that it was all blinged out or anything, but it was nice looking!), but here are a few pictures from our walk and a couple of things from the shops.

This is the view from where we parked. We drove around for about 10 minutes since Banff is quite small and has a lot of visitors. We ended up parking right beside the (mostly) frozen water... very pretty!

Sadie and Whiskers, she just couldn't resist (although I must say, despite his charm and general scruffiness, he did not end up adopted!)

Silver bells... silver bells... and balls, and beads, and dangley things... one beautiful wall of many decorations inside a store that is all about Christmas, all year round.I have always thought that the little nutcracker dolls were a little on the creepy side... maybe I need to go and see the ballet so it stops freaking me out? Regardless, the shelf of them all lined up was a neat photo op!

And finally... the Canadian Christmas Goose, how could you not love it?? 

(Oh ,and just a note: I love it in the store, NOT in my house!)

October in Pictures

October - A Month in Pictures

My first full month, woohoo!!!!  I was so excited to have a full month done. I mean, I know it's my second month, and my second mosaic finished, but it's the first month I got to do start to finish!

There's been lots of nature this month, fewer arranged photos, less choreographing my shots. In some ways that's been nice, and in others it's made me feel like I haven't put as much effort into things as I'd planned.

My favorite picture of the month is a hard choice - my top 3 are the dandelion, the apples, and the tree in the foggy pasture. No matter how many times I look over them I cannot choose, so I have decided that I don't need to - this month there are the three!

Week 9:52 of a Year in Pictures (Oct 31 - Nov 6)

One month fades into another as October gives way to November. I lost my battery charger for a week, so when my camera died I had to wait to get it up and running again until I decided just where I'd hid the damn thing!! I've been taking walks at work over my lunchtime, a nice break from being stuck inside all day. My photos this week are all from my lunchtime walks, bright spots in my days.

Saturday 31st - Nature’s Streamers

I went for a walk at lunchtime today. It was really quiet on the grounds, I didn’t pass a single other person out in the cool air. The colours at this time of the year have changed from bright shades to the more earthy tones. Everything coloured by a palette of muted yellows, browns and greens. At first glance things only look pale, dying, but on closer inspection there are brighter colours underneath. This afternoon I was seeking out the place where the deer slept, and on the way I found these beautiful stalks of prairie grass. I grew up on the prairies, and I have never seen them before! They reminded me of the little flag streamers you can tie on the antenna of the car, or tie to the branches of a tree so that you can see what is otherwise invisible... the wind.

Sunday 1st - Stumpy Shrooms

It’s really beautiful the way nature makes something come of nothing. This stump was cut long ago, and now mushrooms grow anew on top of it, the browns, oranges and yellows beautiful against the gray of the stump.

Monday 2nd - Little Ladies

I set out today to look at the different patterns in the bark on all the trees around the grounds. We are really lucky at work as they put so much care in the design of the grounds, from the trees and flowers to the paths and trails. The bark on the different trees has some beautiful designs, some from the chipping away of time and age, some from the nervous picking of anxious patients. I took a lot of pictures of the trees, and so many of them were beautiful, I got lost in the different patterns (and made myself lat from lunch!). My favourite discovery, which had me giddy like a child... ladybugs!

Tuesday 3rd - Bound Tumbler

I am enjoying my walks at lunchtime. Usually I have no idea what I’m going to try to capture, and this was one of those days. I hadn’t really found anything and my time was running out (lunch was almost over!) and I was literally jogging back to my office when this little weed caught my eye. I love the way the slender stalk explodes into the wild top, brightly lit against the darkened autumn sky, just waiting to be freed from the ground so it can tumble across the yard.

Wednesday 4th - Orange Bough

On my walk today I decided to try and pay attention to beauty and change in transformation. The branch on this pine is dying. It has cracked from the big branch, the green gone from all but the very tips of the needles... turning from red, to orange, and then finally a yellow green before they fall to the ground.

Thursday 5th - Up, up, up

I couldn’t decide whether to use the dark photo, or the one lit by the flash. Each photo I like for different reasons, so both of them are here.

I liked these little branches, stretching up from the ground, like skinny fingers reaching for the sky, up, up, up to the bare branches hung overhead.

Friday 6th - Kickin’ Fun

Kicking through the leaves is one of the small pleasures of Fall, which I still do as though I were 5 years old. It’s one that is almost over for the year as the leaves are swept away by the wind, to be buried by the snow. I never would have thought before about how difficult it is to take a picture of myself, my foot no less, disturbing the peacefulness of the woods, kicking up leaves. Perhaps next time if I have my tripod I can try again, to capture the moment, but this is it for now. And besides, for me, it still captures the feelins in my heart as it happens, bringing me back.